10 Types of Wood Joints Every Woodworker Should Know

Types of Wood Joints Every Woodworker Should Know

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Woodworking is one of those hobbies that takes a lifetime to master. Among other things, that’s because there are so many interesting methods for joining wood together and creating wonderful (and often practical) pieces. In fact, there are well over 100 different types of practical and decorative wood joints that you can utilize in your woodshop.

That said, in practice, there only around 10 wood joints that you must know in order to successfully create durable pieces of furniture and cabinetry.

In this guide, we’ll cover all 10 of these essential wood joints, including their purpose, their construction, and their practical application in the field. We’ll also address any issues with a particular joint type, including any weaknesses that are prone to occur in certain implementations.

With that knowledge in mind, you’ll be able to efficiently and accurately decide which of the 10 – if any – will best serve your current project.

10 Most Common Types of Wood Joints

Let’s dive right in, going through the most common wood joints you need to know before you embark on your next woodworking project.

Butt Joints (Basic and Mitered)

Simple and Mitered Butt JointsFirst up is the butt joint, which most woodworkers can figure out without any expertise at all. This type of joint is simply constructed by “butting” two pieces of lumber together at their edges. This results in squared cornered that can be stabilized using wood glue.

Butt joints also come in both basic and mitered forms, both have comparable characteristics save for the appearance of their edges.

By nature, butt joints are the absolute weakest wood joint available to a craftsman. This is because they rely entirely on wood glue for support. Wood glue lacks much lateral strength without further structural support, so a butt joint can often be ripped apart by hand.

Pocket Hole Joint

A pocket hole joint is technically a non-traditional method of unifying two woodwork pieces since it utilizes screws.

Even so, it is regularly utilized in furniture making to create a secure connection that can bear weight. To create this kind of joint, two workpieces are “butted” together (as in a butt joint). However, rather than using glue, these butted pieces are brought together by way of special screws.

To use this kind of screw, you must first align the workpieces and counterbore a hole between them using a special jig like the Kreg. Into this hole, the specialty screw is inserted and secured. Due to the angle of the hole, these screws end up lying flat, which creates a finish that is both secure and flush.

Pocket Hole Joint

Biscuit Joint

A biscuit joint is another type of reinforced butt joint that creates a seamless, yet sturdy union between two workpieces.

This is done using small, football-shaped pieces of pre-cut material (often fiberboard) called a “biscuit” or “puck.” One or more of the biscuits can be inserted into purpose-made slots within the butted area of the joint. After applying some wood glue, these biscuits expand and create a more reliable weld.

This kind of joint’s biggest weakness is its lack of alignment. To this end, creating perfectly parallel slots on both workpieces is challenging without practice. It also requires you to buy pre-made biscuits, though these can often be found at any hardware store.

Biscuit Joint

Bridle Joint

Also known as a “tongue and fork joint,” the bridle joint is similar in nature to the mortise and tenon joint (described below). However, this type of joint requires you to cut the mortise to the full length of the affixed tenon. This then creates a structurally sound corner that can be used to house rails or set rafters.

Though it may not look like it, this kind of joint is surprisingly strong. It is also fairly resilient, so it is able to withstand some amounts of strain over time. However, fasteners are often required when a bridle joint is caused to endure constant pressure or weight.

Box Joint

Box JointThe box joint’s primary implementation is right in its name. As such, woodworkers often use this type of joint (also sometimes called a “finger joint”) to create strong, aesthetically-pleasing corners on wood boxes and other box-like structures.

This joint looks like boxes stacked on top of one another, which is very uniform and best highlighted by two different wood hues.

These joints are effective because they double the amount of glue-able surface area compared to a basic butt joint. Also, the manner in which this joint’s “fingers” interlock allow each piece to support the other’s weight. This, in turn, creates further positive tension that helps these joints withstand repeated forces (such as when they are used for cabinet drawers).

Dovetail Joint

Dovetail joints operate in a manner similar to their cousin, the box joint. Like the box joint, the dovetail joint is best recognized by its interlocked appearance. However, these interwoven “fingers” are more triangular in shape, with their “tail” slopping outwards. This further increases their self-reliant tension, which increases their overall stability and surface area for wood glue.

There are a variety of dovetail joint sub-types, including the through dovetail, the blind dovetail, the half-blind dovetail, and the sliding dovetail. Each type is challenging to make, though, and often requires practice before it can be successfully implemented. Much of the challenge revolves around creating mitered cuts on both workpieces that align perfectly.

A router is oftentimes used to make those cuts.

Dado Joint

Dado JointDado joints are fairly simple when it comes to their creation and utilization.

In essence, this joint simple requires a squared slot to be cut in the surface of a piece of lumber. If that slot is large enough, another workpiece can then slot into it and rest comfortably. As a result of this simple, yet reliable implementation, dado joints often see use when building shelving.

Because these dado joints are cut perpendicular to a wood piece’s grain, they are able to bear a considerable amount of weight at the point of connection. However, they can be pulled out horizontally unless they are wood glued into place. This is even true of so-called “blind dado joints”, which simply terminate before the slot passes all the way through the surface of the target lumber piece.

While there are numerous ways to make dado joints, one of them is using a circular saw with a dado blade.

Lap Joint

Lap JointLap joints are fairly simple and straightforward. As an upgrade of a butt joint’s mechanics, this type of joint slot tends to be cut in the middle or on the ends of two workpieces. Then, when set together at a corner or at a perpendicular point, these two slots should fit snuggly together. Also, if this is done properly, the combined width of the slots will equal the width of the original, uncut lumber piece.

Lap joints are fairly easy to make while remaining modestly sturdy over time. They can be customized to provide more stability, however, as seen with the dovetail lap joint and the mitered half lap joint which is great for joining wood end-to-end.

Tongue and Groove Joint

Tongue and Groove JointThe tongue and groove joint is the go-to pick for edge-to-edge joinings, such as the kind used in paneling and flooring.

In essence, it consists of a slot (the groove), into which a matched tongue-cut piece of lumber is slotted. If done properly, this results in a flush upper surface that can hold modest amounts of weight.

Mortise and Tenon Joint

Mortise and Tenon JointOne of the strongest joints overall is the mortise and tenon joint.

These consist of a slot (the mortise) on one workpiece and a tenon on the end of another. These must be sized to match up effectively and tightly after connected together. These can then be wedged or glued in place to ensure a fully strong and lasting bond.

Pinning is also common with this kind of joint, especially in furniture assembly.

What Is the Best Type of Wood Joint?

When it comes to wood joints, no single option is the best overall. That’s because different types of joints offer different benefits when it comes to strength, ease of use, and practicality.

On that front, the mortise and tenon joint is likely your strongest option when bearing weight is your focus. Meanwhile, dado and lap joints are two solid options that provide stability without a high learning curve. Meanwhile, some joints are best suited to specific implementations. The box joint and dovetail joint are the best examples of this, given that they are often used when creating box-like projects.

However, many joints – such as the biscuit joint and pocket hole joint – can be easily used in a variety of situations, based upon your available resources.

Summary

No doubt, there are a lot of wood joints to choose from when undertaking a fresh woodworking project. After all, these are only the 10 most common options available to woodworkers of all skill levels. But that being said, these are also 10 of the most useful wood joints that will help you execute the vast majority of your woodworking plans with precision.

If you only feel confident with a few of these joints, don’t rush yourself to learn more. Practice makes perfect, so be sure to test out your skills with each joint type before utilizing it in a project. That way, you can be sure that your final project is as strong and as stylish as possible.